A youth social organization in the southeast, the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), has called on Tinubu to unconditionally release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, from DSS custody. The group wants Kanu to be released just as Sunday Adeyemo, better known as Sunday Igboho, who is agitating for Yoruba nation’s sovereignty, was released from detention by Beninese authorities.
However, it is believed that Sunday Igboho’s release was orchestrated by the intervention of Bola Tinubu and other Yoruba elders amongst whom were, former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Leaders of Afenifere and others. Recall that Sunday Igboho was freed by the Beninese government on Monday, the 9th of October, 2023.
In a statement released on Tuesday in Owerri by the President General of COSEYL, Comrade Goodluck Ibem, the body stated that they are aware that the Federal Government played a significant role in securing the release of Sunday Igboho from detention in the Benin Republic.
He said, “It amounts to selective justice for the FG to facilitate and secure the release of Sunday Igboho from detention while leaving Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is an agitator, in custody.”
According to them, agitation is not a crime under the law; instead, it is the right of any citizen who feels shortchanged or aggrieved to agitate for his or her rights.
He said, “We are very surprised that the Federal Government, saddled with the responsibility of protecting and providing security for Nigerians, knows the right thing to do to restore security in the South East zone, which is to unconditionally release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from DSS custody as ordered by the Federal Court of Appeal, and yet refuses to do it. This amounts to double standards.”
The president general attributed the cause of insecurity in the south east geopolitical zone to the unlawful detentention of Nnamdi Kanu and the marginalization of the people of the south east in the scheme of things.
He said, “People do not just start agitating for agitation’s sake, something serious must have led to the agitation.”
The youth body called on the FG to, as a matter of urgency, release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the same way the federal government facilitated the release of Tinubu’s brother and tribesman, Sunday Igboho, from Beninese authorities.
He said, “What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. The people of the south east are earnestly waiting to receive their son, Nnamdi Kanu, in their arms.”
They are of the view that the release of Mazi Kanu is necessary for peace building in the entire southeast, as the region has witnessed barrages of insecurity challenges since the unlawful arrest and detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
SOURCE: Thisday
IMAGE: The Comet
